Chibok family anxiously await news about their daughter

With the excitement over the release of 82 new Chibok girls still in the air, a family in Chibok is waiting with bated breath for news about their daughter.

Nigerians and the world at large breathed a sigh of relief last Saturday when the Nigerian government announced it had secured the release of 82 more Chibok girls.

The release was made possible after “lengthy negotiations” which saw the Nigerian government agree to an exchange of some Boko Haram prisoners for the schoolgirls.

I believe in God and I trust in God that one day they will be released

The Yaga family, whose daughter Sarah was among the over 200 schoolgirls abducted by the Islamist militant group, Boko Haram in 2014, are however still uncertain about the fate of their daughter.

“When I heard that 82 girls had been released, I was glad, I was so happy,” said Grace Yakubu, an aunt to Sarah Yaga.

But Grace and the other members of the family are not over the moon yet because of the news.

The Nigerian government on Sunday released the names of the freed girls but the list did not include the name, Sarah Yaga. This leaves the family on edge as they do not know if Sarah was among those released especially as the girls are yet to be reconnected with their families.

In spite of that Grace is “praying to God that is, I am praying that may God help us maybe my niece she is among those girls.”

If there is anyone among the family who feels more responsible for Sarah’s abduction however, it is her mother Rebecca.

Rebecca Yaga relocated to the Nigerian capital Abuja a month before the girls were abducted by the Islamist group but she did not take her daughter along with her.

“I am feeling bad,” she told the Reuters news agency about her decision to leave her daughter behind in Chibok. “But I’m keeping praying because even (if) I cry, I would not bring her back with my strength or power” she conceded.

Like most distraught Chibok families whose daughters are still in captivity, Rebecca is keeping her hopes up.

“I believe in God and I trust in God that one day they will be released,” Rebecca Yaga said and her long held belief appears to have paid as she said “I see now they begin their coming out now”.

Rebecca Yaga and her husband Samuel, are still optimistic that even if their daughter is not part of the 82 girls who were recently released, she will certainly be released.